Future plc

Future plc is a British media company founded in 1985. It publishes more than 50 magazines in fields such as video games, technology, films, music, photography, home and knowledge.[1] It is a constituent of the FTSE Fledgling Index. The company also owns the US company Future US.

History

Future's founder Chris Anderson in 2007

The company was founded as Future Publishing in Somerton, Somerset in 1985 by Chris Anderson with the sole magazine Amstrad Action.[2] An early innovation was the inclusion of free software on magazine covers, the first company to do so.[2] In the 1990s, the company published Arcane, a magazine which largely focused on tabletop games.

Anderson sold Future to Pearson PLC for £52.7m in 1994, but bought it back in 1998, with Future chief executive Greg Ingham and Apax Venture Partners, for £142m.[2] In 2001, Anderson left Future.[3]

In 2007, the State of Texas filed a lawsuit against Future plc for violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.[4] The lawsuit alleges that the Future plc owned website GamesRadar "failed to include necessary disclosures and obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from children."[5] The owner of the other websites settled in March 2008,[6] though the final disposition against Future plc is not public record.[7]

In November 2009, Future reported a fall in profits from £9.5 million to £3.7 million (a loss of 61 percent) in the fiscal year that ended 30 September 2009. Future attributed this to problems with their US market, hit by a fall in the general advertising market.[8]

In March 2010, Future announced that it was exploring the possibility of reviving its GamesMaster brand on television. The video games show had run from 1992 until 1998 but while the spin-off magazine continued to be published for a further 20 years, its last issue hit the newsstands on 1 November 2018.[9][10]

Future won the Association of Online Publishers (AOP) Consumer Digital Publisher of the Year Award for the third year in a row in 2010.[11]

Future published the official magazines for the consoles of all three major games console manufacturers (Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony); however PlayStation: The Official Magazine ceased publishing in November 2012, and Official Nintendo Magazine ceased publishing in October 2014.[12][8]

The company had a period of shuttering print media properties in favour of digital media, closing many titles and selling off others. In January 2012, Future sold its U.S. consumer music magazines, including Guitar World and Revolver, to NewBay Media for $3 million.[13] In April 2013, it completed the sale of major components of its UK media-music brands for £10.2 million to Team Rock Ltd.[14] In September 2013 – but bought these back for £800,000 in 2017 after Team Rock went into administration.[15]

Future announced it would cut 55 jobs from its UK operation as part of a restructuring to adapt "more effectively to the company's rapid transition to a primarily digital business model."[18] The company announced in March 2014 that it would close all of its U.S.-based print publications and shift U.S. print support functions such as consumer marketing, production and editorial leadership for Future's international print brands to the UK.[19] Later in 2014, Future sold its sport and craft titles to Immediate Media, and its auto titles to Kelsey Media.[20]

In 2016, Future started to expand its print and web portfolio through a series of acquisitions. It bought Blaze Publishing to diversify into the shooting market[21] and acquired Noble House Media to increase its interest in telecoms media.[22] Future then completed the purchase of rival specialist magazine publisher Imagine[23][24] on 21 October 2016 after receiving approval from the Competition and Markets Authority.[25] In 2018, Future made further major acquisitions. It bought the What Hi-Fi?, FourFourTwo,Practical Caravan and Practical Motorhome brands from Haymarket. Future acquired NewBay Media, publisher of numerous broadcast, professional video, and systems integration trade titles, as well as several consumer music magazines.[26] (this acquisition returned most of the U.S. consumer music magazines to Future with the exception of Revolver which already sold to Project Group M LLC in 2017).[27]

It intends to complete the acquisition of U.S. B2C publisher Purch for $132m by September 2018.[28][29] Future also purchased nextmedia computing and tech assets (including Atomic, Hyper, PC PowerPlay, and PC Tech & Authority) in the same month and incorporating PC PowerPlay articles into the online versions of PC Gamer.[30][31][32]

In January 2019, Future sold some B2B brands to Datateam Media Group.[33]

Organisation

In March 2014, it was announced that the company's CFO Zillah Byng-Maddick would become the company's fourth CEO in nine years on 1 April 2014 after Mark Wood, CEO since 2011, stepped down.[19] Richard Huntingford is chairman.[34]

External links

Black Country Communion is an English-American hard rock band based in Los Angeles, California. Formed in 2009, the band is a supergroup composed of bassist and vocalist Glenn Hughes, guitarist and vocalist Joe Bonamassa, drummer and backing vocalist Jason Bonham, and keyboardist Derek Sherinian. Originally formed by Hughes and Bonamassa with the help of producer Kevin Shirley, the group released its self-titled debut album in September 2010. Second album Black Country Communion 2 followed in June 2011, which was promoted on a European tour later in the year. The band released its third album Afterglow in October 2012.

Following an impromptu performance together in Los Angeles, Hughes and Bonamassa started the side project in November 2009, recruiting Bonham and Sherinian on the advice of Shirley to finalise the lineup of the band. The name Black Country Communion is derived from the term Black Country, which refers to the West Midlands area of England where Hughes and Bonham grew up. The group's sound is intentionally reminiscent of popular classic rock groups of the 1970s, reflecting the previous work of frontman Hughes (in bands such as Trapeze and Deep Purple) as well as the link between Bonham and his father John's band Led Zeppelin.

In March 2013, after months of public tensions, Bonamassa announced that he was no longer a member of Black Country Communion, with the question over whether the group would continue with another guitarist unclear. Days later, Hughes confirmed that the band was officially over, hinting that he would continue working with Bonham and Sherinian under a new collective name. Sherinian later joined Bonamassa's touring band, while Hughes and Bonham formed California Breed with guitarist Andrew Watt. Hughes and Bonamassa later reconciled and the band reunited in 2016, with fourth album BCCIV released in September 2017.

Sir Bradley Marc Wiggins, CBE (born 28 April 1980) is a British former professional road and track racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2016. Nicknamed "Wiggo", he began his cycling career on the track, but made the transition to road cycling and is one of the few cyclists in the modern era to gain significant elite level success in both those forms of professional cycling. He is the only rider to have combined winning both World and Olympic championships on both the track and the road, as well as winning the Tour de France, and holding the iconic track hour record. In addition, he has worn the leader's jersey in each of the three Grand Tours of cycling and held the world record in team pursuit on multiple occasions.

The son of the Australian cyclist Gary Wiggins, Wiggins was born to a British mother in Ghent, Belgium, and raised in London from the age of two. He competed on the track from the early part of his career until 2008. Between 2000 and 2008 he won ten medals at the track world championships, of which six were gold: three in the individual pursuit, two in the team pursuit and one in the madison. His first Olympic medal was a silver in the team pursuit in Sydney 2000, before winning three medals including the gold in the individual pursuit at the Athens 2004, and two golds in the individual and team pursuit at the Beijing 2008.

On the road, Wiggins turned professional in 2001 but made it his focus from 2008. Initially viewed as a time trial specialist and as a rouleur, he showed his ability in stage races when he came fourth in the 2009 Tour de France; he was later promoted to third after Lance Armstrong's results were annulled in 2012. He signed with the newly formed Team Sky in 2010, and in 2011 he claimed his first victory in a major stage race in the Critérium du Dauphiné, as well as finishing third in the Vuelta a España. In 2012, Wiggins won the Paris–Nice, the Tour de Romandie, the Critérium du Dauphiné, and became the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France and the time trial at the Olympic Games. In 2014, he won gold in the time trial at the road world championships, and founded the WIGGINS cycling team. Wiggins returned to the track at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and in June 2015 he set a new hour record with a distance of 54.526 km (33.881 mi). In 2016, he won a further world championship in the madison, and gold in the team pursuit at the Olympics, his fifth successive medal winning appearance at the Games. He retired from all forms of professional cycling on 28 December 2016.

Wiggins was awarded a CBE in 2009. Following his success in 2012, Wiggins was the subject of further honours and awards; the Vélo d'Or award for best rider of the year, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award and a knighthood as part of the 2013 New Year Honours.

On 5 March 2018, the British House of Commons Committee for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport published their report called "Combatting doping in sport". They concluded inter alia that Team Sky had used the powerful banned corticosteroid triamcinolone in 2012 under TUE "to prepare Bradley Wiggins, and possibly other riders supporting him, for the Tour de France. The purpose of this was not to treat medical need, but to improve his power to weight ratio ahead of the race."

Fabian Cancellara (born 18 March 1981), nicknamed "Spartacus", is a Swiss former professional road bicycle racer who last rode for UCI ProTeam Trek–Segafredo. He was born in Wohlen bei Bern, Switzerland. Cancellara began road cycling after falling in love with an old bike at the age of thirteen. After that, he began to take the sport more seriously and won two consecutive World Junior Time Trial Championships in 1998 and 1999. At age nineteen he turned professional and signed with the Mapei–Quick-Step team, where he rode as a stagiaire. He is known for being a quality time trialist, a one-day classics specialist, and a workhorse for his teammates who have general classification aspirations.

After winning a few stages and small races in his starting years, Cancellara earned his first major victory at the 2004 Tour de France where he won the opening prologue time trial and wore race leader yellow jersey for one day. The following season saw fewer victories, but his 2006 season saw a victory in the men's time trial at the UCI Road World Championships, along with victory at the Paris–Roubaix. Cancellara repeated as world champion in the time trial the next year, along with winning two stages at the Tour de France.

During the 2008 calendar he won gold at the Summer Olympics in the individual time trial event and the Milan–San Remo. The next season saw Cancellara again become world time trial champion and lead both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. In 2010, he won the Paris–Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. Cancellara's 2011 and 2012 campaigns were both short in number of victories, while the latter was hampered by injuries throughout. After a lackluster two-year period, Cancellara again won the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix double in 2013. In 2014, Cancellara repeated as winner of the Tour of Flanders.

Since turning professional in 2000, Cancellara has ridden for four professional teams. He has achieved great success in the classic monuments; he has won Paris–Roubaix three times, the Milan–San Remo once, and the Tour of Flanders three times. Cancellara has won the opening stage of the Tour de France five times and has led the race for 29 days total, which is the most of any rider who has not won the Tour. His success has not been limited to just time trials and classics, as he has won general classification of the Tirreno–Adriatico, Tour de Suisse, and the Tour of Oman. In 2008, he won gold in the individual time trial and silver in the men's road race at the Summer Olympics. In 2016, he won Olympic gold in the individual time trial for the second time in his career. In addition, Cancellara has been the time trial world champion four times in his career.

Future US, Inc. (formerly known as Imagine Media and The Future Network USA) is an American media corporation specializing in targeted magazines and websites in the video games, music, and technology markets. Future US is headquartered in the San Francisco with a small sales office in New York City. Future US is owned by parent company, Future plc, a publishing company based in the United Kingdom.

GamesMaster was a monthly multi-format computer and video game magazine published by Future plc in the United Kingdom. As of 2012, it was the biggest selling multi-format video games magazine in the United Kingdom, outselling its sister publication Edge. Along with sister magazine GamesTM, it ceased print in November 2018.

Grand Theft Auto V is an action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It was released in September 2013 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, in November 2014 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and in April 2015 for Microsoft Windows. It is the first main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series since 2008's Grand Theft Auto IV. Set within the fictional state of San Andreas, based on Southern California, the single-player story follows three criminals and their efforts to commit heists while under pressure from a government agency. The open-world design lets players freely roam San Andreas' open countryside and the fictional city of Los Santos, based on Los Angeles.

The game is played from either a third-person or first-person perspective and its world is navigated on foot or by vehicle. Players control the three lead protagonists throughout single-player and switch between them both during and outside missions. The story is centred on the heist sequences, and many missions involve shooting and driving gameplay. A "wanted" system governs the aggression of law enforcement response to players who commit crimes. Grand Theft Auto Online, the game's online multiplayer mode, lets up to 30 players engage in a variety of different cooperative and competitive game modes.

The development of Grand Theft Auto V began soon after Grand Theft Auto IV's release and was shared between many of Rockstar's studios worldwide. The development team drew influence from many of their previous projects such as Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3 and designed the game around three lead protagonists to innovate on the core structure of its predecessors. Much of the development work constituted the open world's creation, and several team members conducted field research around California to capture footage for the design team. The game's soundtrack features an original score composed by a team of producers who collaborated over several years.

Extensively marketed and widely anticipated, the game broke industry sales records and became the fastest-selling entertainment product in history, earning $800 million in its first day and $1 billion in its first three days. It received widespread critical acclaim, with praise directed at its multiple protagonist design, open world, presentation and gameplay. However, it caused controversies related to its depiction of women and a mission featuring torture during a hostage interrogation. Considered one of the seventh generation console gaming's most significant titles and among the best games ever made, it won year-end accolades including Game of the Year awards from several gaming publications. It is the third-best-selling video game of all time with over 100 million copies shipped and one of the most financially successful entertainment products of all time, with about $6 billion in worldwide revenue.

Michele Scarponi (25 September 1979 – 22 April 2017) was an Italian road bicycle racer, who rode professionally from 2002 until his death in 2017 for the Acqua e Sapone–Cantina Tollo, Domina Vacanze–Elitron, Würth, Acqua & Sapone–Caffè Mokambo, Androni Giocattoli, Lampre–Merida and Astana teams. He was declared the winner of the 2011 Giro d'Italia after the disqualification of Alberto Contador. Other major results of his career were the 2009 Tirreno–Adriatico, the 2011 Volta a Catalunya and the 2011 Giro del Trentino stage races.

MusicRadar is a music website that offers information pertaining to artists and their music, with interviews, product news and reviews, and online music lessons. One of the Future's music portal beside Louder, it identifies itself as "The No.1 website for musicians". The site was launched in December 2007 and originally included "major user-generated content areas for amateur and professional musicians".It is owned by British media company Future plc, which incorporates monthly music-making titles including Total Guitar, Guitarist, Rhythm and Computer Music. The site's editor-in-chief is Will Groves. Since 2010, its contributors have included Joe Bosso and Record Collector contributor Terry Staunton.

NewBay Media, LLC was a magazine and website publisher founded in 2006 and headquartered in New York City.NewBay Media served five marketplaces — Music, Pro Audio/AV, Video & Broadcast, Consumer Electronics, and Education.

Official Nintendo Magazine, or ONM, was a British video game magazine which covered the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Wii and Wii U video game consoles released by Nintendo.

Originally published by EMAP as Nintendo Magazine System, the magazine first covered the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy consoles, and was later renamed to Nintendo Magazine, Nintendo Official Magazine then, briefly, Nintendo Official Magazine UK. Under these names, it was published by EMAP for twelve years, before the rights were sold to the publisher, Future plc.

The first issue by Future plc was released on 16 February 2006. The magazine then ran for 8 years and 8 months, concluding with its 114th issue, released on 14 October 2014.

The similarly titled Australian version was a follow-up of Nintendo Magazine System, not to be confused with the UK publication.

PC Gamer is a magazine founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries. The magazine features news on developments in the video game industry, previews of new games, and reviews of the latest popular PC games, along with other features relating to hardware, mods, "classic" games and various other topics.

PC Zone, founded in 1993, was the first magazine dedicated to games for IBM-compatible personal computers to be published in the United Kingdom. Earlier PC magazines such as PC Leisure, PC Format and PC Plus had covered games but only as part of a wider remit. The precursor to PC Zone was the award-winning multiformat title Zero.

The magazine was published by Dennis Publishing Ltd. until 2004, when it was acquired by Future plc along with Computer And Video Games for £2.5m.In July 2010 it was announced by Future plc that PC Zone was to close. The last issue of PC Zone went on sale 2 September 2010.

Retro Gamer is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, Retro Gamer soon became a monthly. In 2005, a general decline in gaming and computer magazine readership led to the closure of its publishers, Live Publishing, and the rights to the magazine were later purchased by Imagine Publishing. It was taken over by Future plc on 21 October 2016, following Future's acquisition of Imagine Publishing.

Rust is a multiplayer-only survival video game developed and published by Facepunch Studios for Microsoft Windows and macOS. First released through Steam Early Access in 2013, the game saw a full release on February 8, 2018. During the course of its five year development, the game saw several major changes to the core gameplay and other elements, notably being ported to the Unity 5 engine to improve the graphics. Rust was initially created as a clone of DayZ, a popular mod for ARMA 2, with crafting elements akin to those in Minecraft.

The objective of Rust is to survive in the wilderness using gathered or stolen materials. Players must successfully manage their hunger, thirst, and health, or risk dying. Despite the looming threat of dangerous wildlife (initially zombies), the primary menace is other players due to the game being solely multiplayer. Combat is accomplished through firearms and primitive weapons, such as bows. In addition, vehicles controlled by non-player characters will occasionally roam, attacking heavily-armed players. These can be defeated with persistence. Rust features crafting, which was fundamentally modified throughout development, which is initially limited until the discovery of specific items in the game's open world. To stay protected, players must build bases or join clans to improve their chance of survival. Raiding is a major aspect of Rust and is done more frequently by large clans. The game also includes predetermined, immutable character traits, including skin color and biological sex, which are permanently tied to players' Steam account.

Rust received mixed reviews from critics in both early access and on release. Praise was directed towards the core gameplay, concept, player vs player combat, and survival aspects, while criticism was directed towards its steep learning curve and harsh beginner experience. Following its departure from early access, Facepunch continued to iterate upon the game, adding new materials and gameplay elements. By 2017, the game had amassed over five million players.

Super Mario World is a 1990 side-scrolling platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The story follows Mario's quest to save Princess Toadstool and Dinosaur Land from the series antagonist Bowser and his children, the Koopalings. The gameplay is similar to that of earlier Super Mario games: Players control Mario or his brother Luigi through a series of levels in which the goal is to reach the flagpole at the end. Super Mario World introduced Yoshi, a dinosaur who can eat enemies and gain abilities by eating the shells of Koopa Troopas.

Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development developed the game, led by director Takashi Tezuka and producer and series creator Shigeru Miyamoto. It is the first Mario game for the SNES and was designed to make the most of the console's technical features. The development team had more freedom compared to the series instalments for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Yoshi was conceptualised during the development of the NES games but was not used until Super Mario World due to hardware limitations.

Super Mario World is often considered one of the greatest video games of all time. It sold over 20 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling SNES game. It also led to an animated television series of the same name and a prequel, Yoshi's Island, released in August and October 1995. It has been rereleased on multiple occasions: It was part of the 1994 compilation Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World for the SNES and was rereleased for the Game Boy Advance as Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 in 2001, on the Virtual Console for the Wii, Wii U, and New Nintendo 3DS consoles, and as part of the Super NES Classic Edition.

TechRadar is an online publication focused on technology, with editorial teams in the US, UK, Australia and India. It provides news and reviews of tech products and first launched in 2008.TechRadar is owned by Future plc, the sixth-largest publisher in the United Kingdom. In Q4 2017, TechRadar entered the top 100 of Similarweb's US Media Publications Rankings as the 93rd biggest media site in the United States.

As of January 2018, SimilarWeb reported TechRadar to be the 10th most popular technology site globally with over 73 million readers per month.

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